Carole E. Barrowman: When Selkies Attack

Carole E. Barrowman is many things: Professor of English at Alverno College in Milwaukee; a reviewer for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Minneapolis Star and Tribune; and the sister of a former time agent! Or to be more accurate she’s the sister of John Barrowman, and the siblings have now collaborated on a new comic strip for Torchwood Magazine entitled ‘Captain Jack and the Selkie’. Carole filled us in about the tale…

Can you sum up the story of ‘Captain Jack and the Selkie’ in a few words?

Exciting! Stunning! Beautifully rendered. Oh, you mean the plot… A number of strange deaths have occurred on a remote island off the northern coast of Scotland. Jack is asked to investigate. I’m afraid to say any more in case I spoil the fun for fans. Let me add too that it’s a re-imagining of the Celtic myth of the selkie.

Where did the idea come from and how long did it take to develop?

The idea came from a short story I’d written, ‘The Tale of the Selkie’. In its original form it had nothing to do with Captain Jack or Torchwood, but when John and I were brainstorming an idea for the comic, he remembered my short story and thought it would be great for our first “Captain Jack Tale”. So we reworked it. The actual process of scripting the story and working closely with Tommy Lee Edwards and Trevor Goring, the artists, took maybe two months or so.

Are you a big science fiction fan?

Very much. At Alverno College in Milwaukee where I’m an English professor, I teach a sci-fi film and fiction course. Along with Torchwood and Doctor Who, I love Battlestar Galactica, Stargate Atlantis and I also read a lot of sci-fi novels. I especially like post-apocalyptic stories. Octavia Butler is one of my favorites, but I’m also a big William Gibson fan.

What was it like working with John again after his biography Anything Goes?

We never really stopped working together. We’ve collaborated on a few other projects since then. When he needs a writer, he knows were to find me! I think we work well together because we think alike about a lot of things…and we both have very active imaginations!

How did you and John divide working on the story?

We worked on the story together, brainstorming on the plot and Jack’s role in it. I wrote the script.

With John dabbling with the writing side of things, are you at all tempted to dabble in acting?

I figure I do enough performing when I stand up in front of my students every day.

Is it true that John speaks to his family in Scottish accent?

John and I consider ourselves to be ‘bi-dialectical’. We made up the word to describe how we talk to each other and to our parents in a Scottish accent, but to everyone else in an American one. It’s very freaky when we’re in a room with other people and we switch back and forth. Because I grew up in Scotland, it’s just weird for me to speak to my parents in an American accent.

Would you ever like to script an episode of Torchwood?

I think that’d be fabulous. I feel as if I know the characters really well having spent so much time on the set.

What new projects do you have in the pipeline?

Hmm… Let me just say that we have a couple of other projects in process and I hope fans will love them as much as I know they’re going to love this comic.

Torchwood Magazine Issue #14 is on sale in the UK and Ireland on 19th February 2009 and in the US on 17 March 2009.

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